The Plight of Unpaid Carers in Scotland (2): Twenty Years, or More, of Reports and Surveys
Back in 2008, I made my first contact with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers (TPRTfC, now
Carers Trust), and described some of the absolutely dreadful things that happened to me, and
to a family member. I had been their full-time carer, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It was exhausting but I was more that happy to do it. All of the problems we had to face,
were caused by people who should have known better.
One day, Linda Allan, from TPRTfC, was at my front door, with a large bundle of publications,
the largest of which is The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland: Appendices 1-5. Published in
2006, by the Scottish Executive, it runs to 275 pages, excluding the cover. It is quite heavy
in weight and density of text, diagrams, tables and statistics.
I never have managed to read it, from cover to cover, and it would be interesting to know
how many unpaid carers have. How useful was it for the “decision makers”, and how
many of the carers’ issues are still unresolved in 2025?
.
George Fairfull-Smith, July 2025.